On August 22nd, the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council welcomes Vanessa Petro, Oregon State University Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society Faculty Research Assistant, for our August 2017 Science Pub presentation entitled Beavers: Understanding Nature’s Architects. Ms. Petro will discuss research findings on topics such as beaver landscape genetics, relocation responses and home range estimates for studies recently conducted throughout Oregon. Her presentation will elucidate the realities of working with beaver in stream restoration and the knowledge gaps that still remain regarding beaver populations in Oregon.

Ms. Petro considers herself to be very fortunate to be one of the few people in the Pacific Northwest who directly studies American beaver. She both lives in the beaver state and work for a university whose mascot is the beaver. She has conducted wildlife research with a variety of mammalian and avian species across the United States for the past 14 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Sterling College in Vermont and a master’s degree from Oregon State University.

The Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council hosts a free monthly public meeting series called the Coast Fork Science Pub on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 5-7pm at the Axe & Fiddle, 657 E. Main Street in Cottage Grove. The event begins with informal socializing, trivia, prizes and updates about the watershed and watershed council during the first hour. Then our Science Pub presentation begins at 6pm. Participants are encouraged to support the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council by ordering food & drinks from 5-7:30pm, as 10% of the sales from evening sales will benefit the Watershed Council. The event is free to the public and all ages are welcome. For further information, visit Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council on Facebook and www.coastfork.org.